Extra Credits
Season 2018
A weekly show discussing various topics on the video game industry and the consumers.
Where to Watch Season 2018
40 Episodes
- Games Should Not Cost $60 Anymore - Inflation, Microtransactions, and PublishingE2
Games Should Not Cost $60 Anymore - Inflation, Microtransactions, and PublishingYou would think that paying $60 for a game would be enough, but so many games these days ask for money with DLC, microtransactions, and yes, lootboxes. There's a reason for that. - Why Do Games Cost So Much To Make? - AAA Game BudgetsE3
Why Do Games Cost So Much To Make? - AAA Game BudgetsLet's talk numbers: marketing, office space, dev tool licenses, voice actors, and more that goes into the average AAA game budget. Why do some games never turn a profit while others seem to magically make it work on the cheapest budget possible? - The Loot Box Question - Designing Ethical Lootboxes: IE4
The Loot Box Question - Designing Ethical Lootboxes: IWhy does the games industry seem to prefer lootboxes over other types of microtransactions nowadays? Why are they so easily manipulated to abuse players' agency? How can we make them better? - The Legality of Loot Boxes - Designing Ethical Lootboxes: IIE5
The Legality of Loot Boxes - Designing Ethical Lootboxes: IILegislating regulation around in-game purchases seems like a good idea, but let's proceed cautiously: the phrasing of such potential rulings could create situations that unfairly affect gamers themselves, not just publishers. - NieR: Automata - Sacrifice and the Meaning of KindnessE6
NieR: Automata - Sacrifice and the Meaning of KindnessMany video games offer you the chance to make “good” or “bad” choices, but often times these choices lack weight; you as a player aren’t emotionally attached to the circumstances, the causes, or the outcomes. Nier: Automata, however, lets players truly empathize with others in a crucial end-game choice. - Break Points - Balancing the Math with the User ExperienceE7
Break Points - Balancing the Math with the User ExperienceWhy does a small, incremental increase in a stat sometimes feel like an overpowered boost? How can we use break points to improve the player's experience? Guest art by Allison Utterback! https://twitter.com/ingrid_archer (No, not THAT Allison, but a very awesome Allison nonethless.) - Impractical Research - How Academia Can Make Better GamesE8
Impractical Research - How Academia Can Make Better GamesAcademic research in games should be challenging our need for commonly accepted principles like Skinner boxes or certain narrative structures. Historically it tends to be focused on finding only certain types of quantifiable data, which can be distracting from the medium's overall progress. - Unpleasant Design - When Bad Design is Used to Hide ProblemsE9
Unpleasant Design - When Bad Design is Used to Hide ProblemsSometimes bad design is created intentionally, to cover up a flaw in the system instead of fixing it. Using cities like Seattle and London as examples, we examine how architecture is designed to remove homeless people from the public eye without actually helping them. - Wolfenstein vs Call of Duty - The Need for “B” GamesE10
Wolfenstein vs Call of Duty - The Need for “B” GamesWolfenstein II: The New Colossus offers up one of the most honest depictions and criticisms of Nazism and bigotry in modern mainstream games, and part of that is due to its "b"-game-like nature--similar to b-movies that transgress the standards of their time. - The Digital Museum - Assassin’s Creed Origins Discovery TourE11
The Digital Museum - Assassin’s Creed Origins Discovery TourThe Assassin's Creed Origins team recently added a non-violent exploration mode to their game coupled with an educational voiceover narrating facts about ancient Egypt. How could we improve on this museum-like experience - Blockchain Games - Can Blockchain Technology be a Game Mechanic?E13
Blockchain Games - Can Blockchain Technology be a Game Mechanic?Say hello to Matt Krol, our new narrator! Today we're talking about about that cursed buzzword "blockchain" that's appeared on the fringes of the game industry within the past year, most infamously Cryptokitties. How could blockchain tech actually provide good game design value? - Ladders and Team Games - Doing it WrongE14
Ladders and Team Games - Doing it WrongThanks to Skillshare for sponsoring this video. The first 500 people to sign up at this link get their first 2 months for free: http://skl.sh//extracredits Why do team-based video games like Overwatch seem to struggle with judging team cooperation and not just individual skill? The answer, surprisingly, comes from chess. - Games You Might Not Have Tried #14 - Mechs, Monsters and More!E15
Games You Might Not Have Tried #14 - Mechs, Monsters and More!These games are definitely perfect...ly suited to expanding your game design knowledge, even if they have some flaws here and there. It's another edition of "extra" game reviews: Games You Might Not Have Tried! - The Content Conundrum - Why So Many Games Feel GenericE16
The Content Conundrum - Why So Many Games Feel GenericProcedurally generated content seems like a really appealing route for a lot of indie developers--it's what AAA game studios are doing, and it seems to protect game balance! But often times it's worth the extra effort to craft a few handmade pieces, even at the risk of "breaking" the game. - College E-Sports - Road to Glory?E17
College E-Sports - Road to Glory?E-sports scholarships are becoming slowly more commonplace, but they have inherited some of the bad qualities of other college sports, as well as unique issues like the usually short lifespans of video games themselves. Should you pursue an esports career? - The Three Pillars of Game Writing - Plot, Character, LoreE18
The Three Pillars of Game Writing - Plot, Character, LoreLet's examine the elements that make up "game writing." Plot, characters, and lore all have to be balanced depending on the type of game you're making--knowing what to cut from your story bible is just as important as knowing what to keep. - Game Therapy - How Can Games Improve Mental Health?E21
Game Therapy - How Can Games Improve Mental Health?Games can help us heal, emotionally as well as physically. We need to do more research on their positive impacts and how we can maximize the emotional value of commercial games, not just on the harmful effects of gaming disorders. - Don't Just Hire Your Fans - Creating a Good Design TeamE22
Don't Just Hire Your Fans - Creating a Good Design TeamHaving 500+ hours logged on a particular game or franchise shouldn't be a job requirement to work on that particular game or franchise--in fact, by working with folks who aren't already "super-fans" of your game, you'll end up making better creative design decisions. - Steam: What Sells - What Steam's Player Numbers Tell Us About Game GenresE23
Steam: What Sells - What Steam's Player Numbers Tell Us About Game GenresWe can learn a lot from Steam's player numbers about why certain games, like PUBG and Paladins, continue to be popular on Steam, as well as why niche driving simulators are doing better than adventure games. - How Games Challenge Us - Empathy and Intuition in Puzzle DesignE25
How Games Challenge Us - Empathy and Intuition in Puzzle DesignHow can we use empathy, intuition, and other types of design vectors to create interesting gameplay besides the most popular mechanics--which are based in reflex and logic challenges? - Games You Might Not Have Tried #15 - September 2018 EditionE26
Games You Might Not Have Tried #15 - September 2018 EditionCheck out some new games to play this month! Here's the list of the games in this video, accompanied by a link to the PC versions on the Humble Store if available (if you do decide to make a purchase through any of the Humble links, you'll be informed that a small percentage will go back to supporting Extra Credits, i.e. paying our artists!). * Yoku's Island Express (NOTE: if you own a Switch, we recommend getting the Switch version instead, as the controls and portability are very delightful) https://www.humblebundle.com/store/yo... * Legendary Gary: https://store.steampowered.com/app/68... * 20XX: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/20... * Cultist Simulator: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/cu... * Wars Across the World: https://store.steampowered.com/app/34... * Prey - Mooncrash DLC: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/pr... * The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit: https://store.steampowered.com/app/84... * Omen Exitio: Plague: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/om... * Cardinal Cross: https://store.steampowered.com/app/81... * The Painscreek Killings: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/th... History of Virtual Reality, part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWIyz... brought to you thanks to Oculus Rift: http://bit.ly/2vJIFRZ - The Joy of Losing - Learning to Have Fun Playing GamesE27
The Joy of Losing - Learning to Have Fun Playing GamesThe design of multiplayer games means that, in most cases, half the playerbase is losing games at any given time. However, that shouldn't mean that half the playerbase is miserable or is unable to have fun. You can still have fun learning how to be a better team leader and practicing mechanical skills--which is important for combatting toxicity in multiplayer games. - The Metaphor is Meaning - "Show, Don't Tell" in Game DesignE28
The Metaphor is Meaning - "Show, Don't Tell" in Game DesignEvery developer should be taking full advantage of the visual and interactive mechanics in games to deliver extra layers of meaning without having to do all game storytelling through text. And players can enhance the depth of their gaming experiences by paying attention to possible metaphors that exist! - World of Warcraft Epidemiology - The Corrupted Blood Plague (And Why It Matters)E29
World of Warcraft Epidemiology - The Corrupted Blood Plague (And Why It Matters)Let's look at how, in 2005, World of Warcraft accidentally provided a virtual simulation of a pandemic that academics have been studying in papers since. - Aspirational Play - Adding a Sense of Wonder to Game DesignE30
Aspirational Play - Adding a Sense of Wonder to Game DesignFrom internet drama stories of Crusader Kings 2 to the secret rooms in Enter the Gungeon, there is value in designing really cool gameplay and story experiences that not all of your players will necessarily get to experience (at least, not immediately). Stoke imagination and wonder by including exciting details that players can enjoy experiencing, even if only vicariously through shared transmedia knowledge. - The New Player Experience - Hooks, Tutorials, RewardsE31
The New Player Experience - Hooks, Tutorials, RewardsA good new player experience consists of three pieces: the hook, the tutorial, and the reward. Spider-Man (2018) is an example that gets this right, by giving players an amazing experience right off the bat and not waiting until the second act. - Achieving Vicarity - Creating Livable FictionE32
Achieving Vicarity - Creating Livable FictionGuest writer Evan Hill (a level designer from Naughty Dog) talks about creating surprises--expectation gaps--in your game, and why adhering to a "lifelike" experience isn't the same as preserving the player's sense of immersion. - Building Streaming Into Your Game - Designing Games for ObserversE34
Building Streaming Into Your Game - Designing Games for ObserversAdding streaming-friendly features to your game *can* increase its marketability, but they have to be as well-thought out as the rest of the gameplay mechanics that cater directly to players. - The GDPR - What It Means For You! (Developers AND Players!)E36
The GDPR - What It Means For You! (Developers AND Players!)The GDPR stands for the “General Data Protection Regulation.” It’s a European regulation that became effective in May 2018, designed to overhaul the way we think about data and data privacy--even internationally--especially when it comes to the privacy of your game-playing data. - Because Games Matter - MJ's Story: How Games Brought a Family TogetherE39
Because Games Matter - MJ's Story: How Games Brought a Family TogetherGrowing up, MJ fought non-stop with their brother--until they discovered Pokemon Stadium together. It would not only change their own life, but that of their entire family, for years to come. - Because Games Matter - A Teachable Moment: Kingdom Hearts in the ClassroomE40
Because Games Matter - A Teachable Moment: Kingdom Hearts in the ClassroomHigh school English teacher Patrick wondered how he could connect better with his students--for one in particular who kept to herself, she just needed someone to let her know that it was OK to talk about video games in the classroom.